Network Identity Certificate Pinning

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods and apparatuses for ensuring that a computing device is attempting to connect to a network, such as a wireless network, provided by an expected or trusted entity. For instance, a certificate may be generated for a network and/or associated with the network. The certificate may then be transmitted to one or more computing devices that may be authorized to access the network. Accordingly, when the computing device selects the network for connection, the system may determine whether the certificate associated with the network is paired with the certificate provided on the computing device. If so, the computing device may be permitted to transmit data over the network. Alternatively, if the network certificate is not paired with the certificate provided on the computing device, the computing device may be prevented from transmitting data over the network.

BACKGROUND

Protecting people's privacy, personal information, financialinformation, and the like, is a significant challenge in today's digitalworld. Users are often connecting various devices, such as mobiledevices, to various wireless networks at locations ranging from a localcoffee shop to the user's place of business. However, connecting tothese networks may be dangerous when you are unable to confirm that youare connecting to a network legitimately provided by an expected entity(e.g., the entity in the name of the network, the coffee house, yourplace of business, or the like). Individuals may create networks havingnames the same as or similar to networks associated with an expected ortrusted entity to attempt to lure users into connecting to the networkso that they can, in some examples, attempt to access personalinformation, financial information, username and password information,and the like, without the permission of the user. This can pose aserious threat to a user's privacy and information security.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosure. The summary is not anextensive overview of the disclosure. It is neither intended to identifykey or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope ofthe disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts ofthe disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the descriptionbelow.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to methods, computer-readable media,and apparatuses for ensuring that a computing device is connecting to anetwork provided by an expected or trusted entity. For instance, acertificate may be generated for a network. In some examples, thecertificate may be unique to the network. The certificate may then betransmitted or provided to one or more computing devices that may beauthorized to access the network. Accordingly, when the computing deviceselects the network for connection, the system may determine whether thecertificate associated with the network matches or is paired with thecertificate provided to or preinstalled on the computing device. If so,the computing device may be permitted to attempt to connect to ortransmit data over the network (e.g., additional authentication may berequested or required prior to a connection being made). Alternatively,if the network certificate does not match or is not paired with thecertificate provided to the computing device, the computing device maybe prevented from attempting to access or connect to the network (e.g.,that network may no longer be accessible from the computing device, mayappear grayed-out, or the like).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limitedin the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicatesimilar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example operating environment in which variousaspects of the disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative block diagram of workstations and servers thatmay be used to implement the processes and functions of certain aspectsof the present disclosure according to one or more aspects describedherein.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example network identity certificate pinningsystem according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is an example method of generating a network identity certificateand using the generated certificate to ensure that computing devices areattempting to connect to a network associated with an expected ortrusted entity according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 5 is an example method of implementing the network identitycertificate to ensure connection to a network associated with a trustedor expected entity according to one or more aspects described herein

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate example user interfaces that may be provide to auser during or after a certificate matching process according to one ormore aspects described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various illustrative embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a parthereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, variousembodiments in which the claimed subject matter may be practiced. It isto be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and thatstructural and functional modifications may be made, without departingfrom the scope of the present claimed subject matter.

It is noted that various connections between elements are discussed inthe following description. It is noted that these connections aregeneral and, unless specified otherwise, may be direct or indirect,wired or wireless, and that the specification is not intended to belimiting in this respect.

As discussed above, in today's digital world, people are oftenconnecting their computing devices to networks, such as wirelessnetworks, at various locations. Often, selection of a network to whichthe user will attempt to connect his or her device is based on the nameassociated with that network. Accordingly, businesses or other entitiesmay use a network naming convention that includes the name of thebusiness or entity in the name of the network, in order to simplifyidentifying the network to which a user will or should attempt toconnect. For instance, Company A's network may be named“NETWORKCOMPANYA,” or simply “COMPANY A” so that users looking toconnect a device to the network can quickly and/or easily identify thedesired network.

However, malicious individuals may create networks that are notlegitimately associated with the company or entity but may use thecompany or entity name in the name of the network. This may be done inan effort to lure or mislead users into thinking the network isassociated with the company or entity so that they will connect to thenetwork. At that point, the individuals establishing the illegitimatenetworks may attempt to obtain the user's personal information,financial information, or the like, without the permission of the user.Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a system and method ofensuring that the network being selected, or to which a user willattempt to connect, is actually associated with the expected company orentity or a trusted entity or company. That is, that the network is, infact, associated with the company or entity for which the network isnamed. It would further be advantageous to have a level of assurancethat the network is provided by the expected or trusted entity prior totransmitting data over the network.

Accordingly, as will be discussed more fully below, a certificate may begenerated and associated with a network. In some examples, thecertificate may be unique to the network. The certificate may then betransmitted or provided to computing devices authorized to access thenetwork and may be associated with the computing devices. When a userselects a network to which he or she will attempt to connect, the systemmay determine whether the certificate associated with the selectednetwork is paired with the certificate preinstalled or provided on thecomputing device. If so, the computing device may permit the user toaccess or connect to the network. If not, the computing device may beprevented from attempting to access or connect to the network. These andvarious other aspects of the disclosure will be discussed more fullybelow.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative operating environment in which variousaspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in accordance withone or more example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 1, computing systemenvironment 100 may be used according to one or more illustrativeembodiments. Computing system environment 100 is only one example of asuitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality contained in thedisclosure. Computing system environment 100 should not be interpretedas having any dependency or requirement relating to any one orcombination of components shown in illustrative computing systemenvironment 100.

Computing system environment 100 may include computing device 101 havingprocessor 103 for controlling overall operation of computing device 101and its associated components, including random-access memory (RAM) 105,read-only memory (ROM) 107, communications module 109, and memory 115.Computing device 101 may include a variety of computer readable media.Computer readable media may be any available media that may be accessedby computing device 101, may be non-transitory, and may include volatileand nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such ascomputer-readable instructions, object code, data structures, programmodules, or other data. Examples of computer readable media may includerandom access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electronicallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium that can be used to store the desired informationand that can be accessed by computing device 101.

Although not required, various aspects described herein may be embodiedas a method, a data processing system, or as a computer-readable mediumstoring computer-executable instructions. For example, acomputer-readable medium storing instructions to cause a processor toperform steps of a method in accordance with aspects of the disclosedarrangements is contemplated. For example, aspects of the method stepsdisclosed herein may be executed on a processor on computing device 101.Such a processor may execute computer-executable instructions stored ona computer-readable medium.

Software may be stored within memory 115 and/or storage to provideinstructions to processor 103 for enabling computing device 101 toperform various functions. For example, memory 115 may store softwareused by computing device 101, such as operating system 117, applicationprograms 119, and associated database 121. Also, some or all of thecomputer executable instructions for computing device 101 may beembodied in hardware or firmware. Although not shown, RAM 105 mayinclude one or more applications representing the application datastored in RAM 105 while computing device 101 is on and correspondingsoftware applications (e.g., software tasks), are running on computingdevice 101.

Communications module 109 may include a microphone, keypad, touchscreen, and/or stylus through which a user of computing device 101 mayprovide input, and may also include one or more of a speaker forproviding audio output and a video display device for providing textual,audiovisual and/or graphical output. Computing system environment 100may also include optical scanners (not shown). Exemplary usages includescanning and converting paper documents, e.g., correspondence, receipts,and the like, to digital files.

Computing device 101 may operate in a networked environment supportingconnections to one or more remote computing devices, such as computingdevices 141 and 151. Computing devices 141 and 151 may be personalcomputing devices or servers that include any or all of the elementsdescribed above relative to computing device 101. Computing devices 141or 151 may be a mobile device (e.g., smart phone) communicating over awireless carrier channel.

The network connections depicted in FIG. 1 may include local areanetwork (LAN) 125 and wide area network (WAN) 129, as well as othernetworks. When used in a LAN networking environment, computing device101 may be connected to LAN 125 through a network interface or adapterin communications module 109. When used in a WAN networking environment,computing device 101 may include a modem in communications module 109 orother means for establishing communications over WAN 129, such asInternet 131 or other type of computer network. The network connectionsshown are illustrative and other means of establishing a communicationslink between the computing devices may be used. Various well-knownprotocols such as transmission control protocol/Internet protocol(TCP/IP), Ethernet, file transfer protocol (FTP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP) and the like may be used, and the system can be operatedin a client-server configuration to permit a user to retrieve web pagesfrom a web-based server. Any of various conventional web browsers can beused to display and manipulate data on web pages.

The disclosure is operational with numerous other general purpose orspecial purpose computing system environments or configurations.Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with the disclosedembodiments include, but are not limited to, personal computers (PCs),server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, smart phones,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes,programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove systems or devices, and the like.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative block diagram of workstations and serversthat may be used to implement the processes and functions of certainaspects of the present disclosure in accordance with one or more exampleembodiments. Referring to FIG. 2, illustrative system 200 may be usedfor implementing example embodiments according to the presentdisclosure. As illustrated, system 200 may include one or moreworkstation computers 201. Workstation 201 may be, for example, adesktop computer, a smartphone, a wireless device, a tablet computer, alaptop computer, and the like. Workstations 201 may be local or remote,and may be connected by one of communications links 202 to computernetwork 203 that is linked via communications link 205 to server 204. Insystem 200, server 204 may be any suitable server, processor, computer,or data processing device, or combination of the same. Server 204 may beused to process the instructions received from, and the transactionsentered into by, one or more participants.

Computer network 203 may be any suitable computer network including theInternet, an intranet, a wide-area network (WAN), a local-area network(LAN), a wireless network, a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, aframe relay network, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, avirtual private network (VPN), or any combination of any of the same.Communications links 202 and 205 may be any communications linkssuitable for communicating between workstations 201 and server 204 (e.g.network control center), such as network links, dial-up links, wirelesslinks, hard-wired links, as well as network types developed in thefuture, and the like. A virtual machine may be a software implementationof a computer that executes computer programs as if it were a standalonephysical machine.

FIG. 3 illustrates one example network identity certificate pinningsystem 300 according to one or more aspects described herein. In someexamples, the network access certificate pinning system 300 may be partof, internal to or associated with an entity 302. The entity 302 may bea corporation, university, government entity, and the like. In someexamples, the entity 302 may be a financial institution, such as a bank.Although various aspects of the disclosure may be described in thecontext of a financial institution, nothing in the disclosure shall beconstrued as limiting the network identity certificate pinning system300 to use within a financial institution. Rather, the system 300 may beimplemented by various other types of entities.

The network identity certificate pinning system 300 may include one ormore modules that may include hardware and/or software configured toperform various functions within the system 300. The one or more modulesmay be separate, physical devices or, in other examples, one or moremodules may be part of the same physical device.

The system 300 may include a network connection module 304. The networkconnection module 304 may receive a request to attempt to access one ormore networks, such as from one or more computing devices 312 a-312 e.For instance, a request to attempt to access a network may be receivedfrom a smart phone 312 a, a personal digital assistant (PDA) 312 b, atablet computing device 312 c, a cell phone 312 d, or another type ofcomputing device 312 e.

In some examples, the request to attempt access one or more networks mayinclude a request to attempt to access, via a wireless connection, anetwork that appears available for connection as displayed by thecomputing device 312. For instance, the computing device 312 may display(either automatically or upon user input requesting such information) alist of networks available for connection. The networks may be labelledby a unique name or may include a generic name. In many arrangements, anetwork may be named by a network or other administrator. Accordingly,an administrator may name the network as desired. In situations in whicha network is being set up to appear to be a network associated with anentity when, in fact, the network is not legitimately associated withthat entity, the name of the network can mislead a user into believingthat they are connecting to a legitimate network of the entity when, infact, they are not.

Accordingly, one or more networks may be associated with a certificategenerated by, for instance, a certificate generation module 306. Thecertificate generation module 306 may generate, for one or more networksas desired, a certificate (or pair of certificates as will be discussedbelow) certifying that the network is a trusted network (e.g., that theidentified network is legitimately associated with the entity indicatedor expected based on a name or other identifier associated with thenetwork). The certificate may be associated with that particularnetwork, such that it is, in at least some arrangements, unique to thatnetwork.

The generated certificate may include a pair of certificates. Forinstance, a private certificate may be associated with or pinned to thenetwork and may be placed on each of the network access points. Acorresponding, public certificate may be paired with the privatecertificate and provided to or preinstalled on one or more computingdevices. Accordingly, when a computing device attempts to connect to thenetwork (e.g., via the network access point) the authenticity of thenetwork may be verified via a mathematical pairing of the publiccertificate provided to or preinstalled on the computing device and theprivate certificate of the network being accessed.

The generated certificate may be transmitted to, provided to, orpreinstalled on one or more computing devices (such as devices 312 a-312e) in order to facilitate the secure or trusted network access processdescribed herein. For instance, the public certificate paired with theprivate certificate generated for the network may be provided to orpreinstalled on one or more devices that are associated with thatnetwork, such as computing devices of one or more employees or otherswho are authorized to access the network. In some examples, the publiccertificate may be received by the computing device 312 and may bestored on the device (e.g., locally stored on the device). In somearrangements, a computing device 312 may store a plurality of differentpublic certificates paired with a plurality of private certificatesassociated with a plurality of different networks to which the devicemay connect or attempt to connect.

The network identity certificate pinning system 300 may further includea certificate pairing module 308. The certificate pairing module 308may, upon a computing device attempting to access to a network,determine whether a public certificate provided on or preinstalled onthat device matches or is paired with the private certificate for theparticular network being accessed. If so, the certificate pairing module308 may permit (or may transmit instructions to, for instance, thenetwork connection module 304, to permit) the computing device 312 toaccess the network and/or transmit data over the network.

Permitting the access to the network or the transmission of data overthe network may include an additional step of requesting logincredentials or other forms of authentication of a user of the computingdevice and/or authenticating the user of the computing device prior toproviding access and/or connecting to the network. Requestingauthenticating information may be performed separately or subsequent todetermining whether the certificates of the computing device and networkare paired. For instance, the certificate pairing module 308 maytransmit instructions to an authentication module 310 indicating thatthe certificates are paired. The authentication module 310 may thengenerate a request for authentication and transmit it to the computingdevice. The computing device 312 may display the request for a usernameand/or password, biometric data, or other authenticating information ofa user of the computing device 312. Thus, in some examples, the merefact that a computing device has a public certificate matching or pairedto a private certificate associated with a particular network is notsufficient to transmit data over to the network. Rather, additionalauthentication may be requested or required prior to providing access(e.g., transmitting data over) the network.

Similar to conventional systems, if authentication information receivedvia the computing device 312 matches authentication informationassociated with a user and stored on the system (e.g., stored in adatabase associated with the authentication module 310), the deviceand/or user may be authenticated to the system and a connection may bemade between the computing device 312 and the network.

If the certificate pairing module 308 does not detect a pairing betweenthe certificate provided on or preinstalled on the requesting device andthe certificate associated with the identified network, the certificatepairing module 308 may prevent (or transmit instructions to, forinstance, the network connection module 304 to prevent) access to,attempts to access, or transmission of data over the network. Preventingattempts to access to the network or transmission of data over thenetwork may include causing a notification to be displayed on therequesting computing device indicating that the certificates are notpaired and indicating that access to that network will not be permitted(e.g., no data may be transmitted over that network, no request forcredentials or other authentication may be transmitted to the computingdevice, or the like). In another example, preventing attempts to accessthe network may include removing the network from a list of availablenetworks, causing the network to appear grayed-out or otherwiseunavailable in a list of available networks, or the like. In someexamples, networks to which access is being prevented (e.g., due to adetermination that the certificate of the computing device is not pairedwith the certificate of the network) may include a visual cue along withthe name of the network, for instance, in a list of networks. The visualcue may include a red “X” or other indication that this network is notaccessible. Various other examples of visual cues will be discussed morefully below.

These and various other arrangements will be discussed more fully below.

FIG. 4 illustrates one method of generating a network identitycertificate and using the generated certificate to permit attempts toaccess a network, according to one or more aspects described herein. Instep 400, a certificate for a network is generated. For instance, acertificate generating module (306 in FIG. 3) may generate a certificatefor one or more networks. The certificate may aid in providing secureaccess to the networks by indicating to users attempting to connect tothe networks that the networks are associated with a trusted or expectedentity. For instance, a certificate may be generated for and/or issuedto a network to indicate that the network is associated with an entityto which it may seem to be associated or to which a user would expect itto be associated (e.g., an entity having a name corresponding to thename of the network). Accordingly, if a user is attempting to connect toNetworkCompany1, the certificate matching process described herein mayprovide an indication that NetworkCompany1 is legitimately associatedwith Company 1 and is not a network associated with an individual orentity attempting to facilitate unlawful or unauthorized activity.

In step 402, one or more certificates associated with one or morenetworks may be transmitted to, provided to, or preinstalled on one ormore computing devices. As discussed above, the certificate provided tothe computing device may be a public certificate paired with the privatecertificate associated with the network. In such examples, generation ofthe certificate includes generation of the pair of certificates. Acertificate generated for a particular network of an entity may betransmitted, uploaded, or the like, to a computing device associatedwith the entity. In some examples, network NetworkCompany1 may be anetwork associated with Company 1. Accordingly, a certificate may begenerated for that network and that certificate (or a public certificatepaired with the private certificate associated with the network) may beplaced on one or more computing devices associated with Company 1. Forinstance, the certificate may be placed on laptops, tablets, smartphones, desktop computers, and the like, of employees of Company 1, suchthat when the employee attempts to access NetworkCompany1 from a device,the certificate pairing process may occur to ensure that the network islegitimately associated with Company 1, as discussed more fully herein.

In step 404, a request may be received to attempt to connect to anetwork (e.g., a network having a certificate indicating it isassociated with the trusted or expected entity). An attempt to connectto a network may include selecting from a listing of available networks(e.g., available wireless networks) a desired network to which thedevice will attempt to connect. The listing of available networks may bedisplayed on the computing device automatically or upon receiving userinput requesting display of the listing of available networks. In someexamples, display of the available networks may include a visual cue orother indication that the network is a trusted network (e.g., based on adetermination that the certificates of the device and network arepaired).

In step 406, a determination may be made as to whether a certificateprovided on or preinstalled on the computing device attempting toconnect to the identified or selected network matches the certificate ofthe identified or selected network. In some examples, the determinationof whether the certificates are paired may be performed upon selectionof a network (e.g., upon initiation of an attempt to access a network orselection of the network from the list of available networks). That is,in some examples, a connection to the network may be made but prior totransmission of any data over the network, the determination of whetherthe certificates are paired may be made. Thus, the determination ofwhether the certificates are paired may be performed prior totransmitting data over the network which may prevent maliciousindividuals from obtaining data without a user's permission.

If, in step 406, the certificates are paired, the attempt to access thenetwork by the computing device may be permitted in step 408. Asindicated above, in some examples, permitting the computing device toattempt to access the network might include providing access to thenetwork including permitting transmission of data over the network.Permitting the attempt to access the network may further include anyrequests for identification, authentication, or the like, which may benecessary or desired to complete a connection between the computingdevice and the network.

For instance, in step 410, after the connection to the network has beenmade (e.g., a determination has been made that the certificates arepaired and data transmission over the network is permitted)authentication information may be received from the computing deviceand/or a user associated with the computing device. Thus, receivingauthentication information may be separate from or subsequent to thedetermination of whether the certificates are paired. Authenticationinformation may include username, password, biometric data, and thelike. A determination may be made, in step 412, as to whether the useris authenticated (e.g., whether received authentication informationmatches pre-stored authentication information). If so, access to thenetwork may be permitted in step 412. Access to the network may includepermitting or facilitating the transmission of data between thecomputing device and the network.

If, in step 412, the user is not authenticated, then access to thenetwork may be denied in step 416. Access being denied may includeproviding an indication to the user that the user's credentials or otherauthentication information was not valid or did not meet predefinedrequirements for authentication.

If, in step 406, a determination is made that the certificate providedon or preinstalled on the computing device does not match thecertificate associated with the identified or selected network to whichthe user or device is attempting to connect, an attempt to access (e.g.,transmit data over) the network may be prevented in step 418. Asindicated above, preventing an attempt to access the network may includeproviding an indication (e.g., an interface for display on the computingdevice) that this network might not be legitimate or legitimatelyassociated with the expected entity and, accordingly, the computingdevice will not be permitted to attempt to access the network (e.g., noauthentication information will be requested, no transmission of dataover the network, or the like). Rather, the network may, in someexamples, essentially be or appear unavailable to the user/computingdevice based on the determination that the certificates do not match. Insome examples, the network name may be associated with a visual cueindicated that the certificates are not paired and, thus, the network isnot or might not be associated with a trusted entity.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example method of implementing the networkidentity certificate to ensure connection to a network associated with atrusted or expected entity according to one or more aspects describedherein. In step 500, a certificate may be received at a computingdevice. As discussed above, the certificate may be a public certificatepaired with a private certificate associated with a network and may bereceived from a trusted entity. The certificate may be provided to thecomputing device to ensure that the computing device connects to anetwork legitimately associated with an entity, such as an employer,financial institution, university, or the like.

In step 502, the computing device may initiate an attempt to access anetwork. The attempt to access the network may include selecting adesired or identified network from a list of available networks, asdiscussed above. In some examples, a connection to the selected oridentified network may be made but data might not be transmitted overthe network until a certificate pairing determination has been made. Instep 504, a determination may be made as to whether the publiccertificate provided on or preinstalled on the computing device ispaired with a private certificate associated with the selected oridentified network. If the certificate associated with the computingdevice is paired with the network certificate, access to the network maybe permitted in step 506 and data may be transmitted over the network.

In step 508, after the determination has been made that the certificatesare paired, the computing device may display a request forauthentication information. The request for authentication may beseparate from and subsequent to the determination of certificatepairing. A user may enter the authentication information and, in step510, the authentication information may be transmitted to the system forauthentication. In step 512, a determination may be made as to whetherthe user is authenticated by the system. If so, the computing deviceaccess the network in step 514. If the user is not authenticated, anindication of denial of access to the network or failed authenticationmay be received at the computing device in step 516.

If, in step 504, a determination is made that the certificate associatedwith the computing device is not paired with the certificate associatedwith the network, an attempt to connect to the network may be preventedin step 518, similar to step 418.

Although the above examples describe one certificate associated with thecomputing device, in some arrangements, a computing device may have aplurality of certificates, each certificate being associated with acorresponding network. As discussed above, in some examples, eachcertificate associated with a corresponding network may be unique to thecorresponding network. Thus, a user may be able to attempt to access avariety of networks with the confidence that those networks arelegitimately associated with an expected or trusted entity indicated.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate various user interfaces that may be providedaccording to one or more aspects described herein. FIG. 6A illustratesone example user interface for selecting a network to which a computingdevice may attempt to connect. The user interface 600 may, in someexamples, automatically be displayed to a user (e.g., upon startup, upondetection of available networks, or the like) and/or may be displayedupon receiving user input requesting display of any available networks.

The interface 600 includes a listing of available networks in field 602.The available networks may include available wireless networks and mayinclude a name of the network. In some examples, the name of the networkcorresponds to an entity associated with the network, such thatindividuals desiring to connect to the network of the entity may easilyidentify the appropriate network. For instance, “Network Company 1” maybe associated with an entity known as, “Company 1.” However, asdiscussed above, malicious individuals may give a network a misleadingname which may lead a user to believe a network is legitimatelyassociated with an expected entity when, in fact, it is not. This canlead the individual accessing personal information, financialinformation, and the like, without the permission of the user.Accordingly, the network identity certificate arrangements describedherein may be used to ensure that users are connecting to a networklegitimately associated with the expected or trusted entity.

A user may select a network from the list in field 602 and may select“OK” option 604 to indicate that the user will attempt to connect to theselected or identified network. Alternatively, the user may select“CANCEL” option 606 to clear any selections made and/or return a user toa previous interface.

FIG. 6B illustrates one user interface indicating that an attempt toaccess the identified or selected network is permitted. As discussedabove, this may be based on a determination that a public certificateprovided on or preinstalled on the computing device attempting to accessthe network is paired with a private certificate associated with theidentified or selected network. Accordingly, the user may be prompted toenter authenticating information, such a username in field 622 andpassword in field 624. Other types of authentication, such as biometricdata, may be used without departing from the invention.

Once the authentication information has been entered, the user mayselect “OK” option 626 to process the information to determine whetherthe authenticating information matches pre-stored authenticatinginformation (e.g., that the user is authenticated and is eligible toconnect to the network). As discussed above, if the user isauthenticated, access to the network may be provided. Alternatively, ifthe user is not authenticated, the user may receive a notificationindicating that the attempt to login failed and/or that theauthenticating information entered does not match pre-storedauthenticating information. The user may also select “CANCEL” option 628to clear any input and/or return to a previous interface, such asinterface 600 in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 6C illustrates one example user interface 640 indicating that anattempt to access the selected or identified network is not permitted,according to one or more aspects described herein. As discussed above,if the certificate provided on or preinstalled on the computing devicefrom which the network is selected is not paired with the certificateassociated with the selected or identified network, any attempt toaccess the network will not be permitted. This may ensure that users donot connect to networks that may lead to potentially harmfulconsequences (e.g., loss of information, and the like).

The interface 640 includes region 642 in which a notification isdisplayed to the user indicating that the certificates are not pairedand indicating that no attempts to connect to or transmit data over theselected or identified network will be permitted. The interface 640 mayfurther include contact information (such as a phone number, emailaddress, link to customer service page, or the like) for addressing orresolving this issue (e.g., identifying the legitimate network to whichthe user may connect, updating any certificates as needed, and thelike). In some examples, the interface 640 may include an updated list646 of available networks in which the previously selected network (forwhich the certificates did not match) may appear grayed-out or otherwiseunavailable. In this example, Network Company 2 appears grayed-out orunavailable. Network Company 2 also includes a visual cue 648 (e.g., an“X”) indicated that this network is not or may not be associated with atrusted entity (e.g., based on a determination that the certificateprovided on the computing device is not paired with a certificateassociated with that network. Various other types of visual cues mayalso be provided without departing from the invention, such as anunlocked padlock symbol (indicating the network is not secure, a reddot, a stop sign symbol, the color of the name of the network may appearin red, or the like.

The updated listing of available networks 646 may further include avisual cue 650 to identify networks that are deemed to be associatedwith a trusted entity (e.g., networks for which a determination hasalready been made that the certificate provided on the computing deviceis paired with the certificate associated with the network). Forinstance, visual cue 650 includes a check mark to indicate that thenetwork is associated with the trusted entity (based on the certificatepairing). Various other types of visual cues may be used withoutdeparting from the invention, such as a locked padlock symbol (toindicate network is secure), a green dot, the color of the name of thenetwork may appear in green, or the like.

Various examples of the implementation of the systems, apparatuses,methods and computer-readable media described herein are provided below.It should be noted that these are merely some example implementationsand are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure in any way.Rather, various other example implementations may be used withoutdeparting from the invention.

The above described arrangements aim to ensure that users are not misledinto connecting to networks that are not legitimately associated with anindicated entity. For example, the arrangements described above aim toensure that a user can confidently connect to a network having a nameindicating an association with a trusted entity, with minimal concernthat the network is not, in fact associated with that entity (e.g., isan illegitimate network using the name of the entity to mislead usersand conduct potential unlawful or unauthorized activity). Thearrangements described herein may be used with any type of network,including any wireless network (e.g., private networks, publiclyavailable networks, cellular phone networks, and the like).

Accordingly, the arrangements described above may ensure that computingdevices that are authorized to connect to a particular network (e.g.,computing devices of a company that are authorized to connect to thecompany's network) include a certificate that is paired with acertificate associated with the network the user is authorized toaccess.

For example, employees of Company A may be authorized to access one ormore networks including the name “CompanyA,” “Company A,” or the like.Certificates unique to each of the one or more networks including thosenames are generated and associated with each respective network. Thecertificates also may be transmitted to or preinstalled on one or morecomputing devices of one or more employees of Company A who areauthorized to access the one or more networks via the one or moredevices. Accordingly, when an employee of Company A attempts to access anetwork having the name “CompanyA,” the certificate matching processwill occur and an attempt to connect to the selected network (andtransmission of data over the network) will only be permitted if thecertificates are paired. Thus, if an individual attempting to mislead auser into connecting to a network names a network “CompanyA,” theemployee/user may select that network or initiate an attempt to accessthat network. However, if the certificate on the computing device is notpaired with a certificate associated with the illegitimate “CompanyA”network, the computing device will be prevented from attempting toaccess the illegitimate “CompanyA” network (e.g., no data will betransmitted over the network).

In another example, the certificates may be generated for one or morenetworks and provided to one or more computing devices duringmanufacture of the devices or during software upgrades. For instance,some computing device manufacturers may desire to set up the computingdevices to automatically connect to a network having a particular nameanytime that network is detected by the device. In some examples, thename may be a name of a wireless service provider so that, regardless ofthe location of the computing device, the computing device willautomatically connect to a network having the defined name anytime anetwork having that name is detected by the computing device.

However, malicious individuals may establish networks having the known,defined network name but that are not legitimately associated with theexpected or trusted entity (e.g., the wireless service provider).Accordingly, the manufacturer may generate a certificate for the networkand during manufacture or software upgrades of each computing device,may load or associate the certificate to each device. Thus, anytime anetwork having the predefined name is detected, the certificate pairingdetermination process will occur to determine whether the network is alegitimate network of the expected or trusted entity. That is, if thecertificates are paired, the network may be trusted and datatransmission over the network may be permitted. If the certificates arenot paired, the computing device will be prevented from transmittingdata over the network.

Various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, anapparatus, or as one or more computer-readable media storingcomputer-executable instructions. Accordingly, those aspects may takethe form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely softwareembodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects.Any and/or all of the method steps described herein may be embodied incomputer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium,such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. Additionally oralternatively, any and/or all of the method steps described herein maybe embodied in computer-readable instructions stored in the memory of anapparatus that includes one or more processors, such that the apparatusis caused to perform such method steps when the one or more processorsexecute the computer-readable instructions. In addition, various signalsrepresenting data or events as described herein may be transferredbetween a source and a destination in the form of light and/orelectromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media such asmetal wires, optical fibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g.,air and/or space).

Aspects of the disclosure have been described in terms of illustrativeembodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications, andvariations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occurto persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of thisdisclosure. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the steps illustrated in the illustrative figures may beperformed in other than the recited order, and that one or more stepsillustrated may be optional in accordance with aspects of thedisclosure. Further, one or more aspects described with respect to onefigure or arrangement may be used in conjunction with other aspectsassociated with another figure or portion of the description.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor;and a memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executedby the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: associate acertificate with a network, the certificate configured to indicate to auser of a computing device that the network is associated with anexpected entity; receive, from the computing device, a request toconnect to the network; determine whether a certificate provided on thecomputing device is paired with the certificate associated with thenetwork; responsive to determining that the certificate provided on thecomputing device is paired with the certificate associated with thenetwork, permit the computing device to transmit data over the network;and responsive to determining that the certificate provided on thecomputing device is not paired with the certificate associated with thenetwork, prevent the computing device from transmitting data over thenetwork.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further including instructionsthat, when executed, cause the apparatus to: prior to associating thecertificate with the network, generate a pair of certificates includinga private certificate and a public certificate, wherein the privatecertificate is associated with the network and the public certificate isprovided on the computing device.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, furtherincluding instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to:identify a plurality of computing devices authorized to access thenetwork; and provide the generated public certificate to the pluralityof computing devices, wherein the computing device is one computingdevice of the plurality of computing devices.
 4. The apparatus of claim1, further including instructions that, when executed, cause theapparatus to: display a list of networks available for attemptedconnection by the user via the computing device, the list of networksavailable including the network, wherein receiving, from the computingdevice, the request to connect to the network includes selecting thenetwork from the list of networks available for attempted connection. 5.The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the determining whether a certificateprovided on the computing device is paired with the certificateassociated with the network is performed upon selection of the networkfrom the list of networks available for attempted connection.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the determining whether a certificateprovided on the computing device is paired with the certificateassociated with the network is performed prior to transmitting data overthe network.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the certificate isunique to the network.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecomputing device includes a plurality of certificates unique tocorresponding networks of a plurality of networks.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the expected entity is an entity associated with a nameof the network.
 10. A method, comprising: associating, by a networkidentity certificate system having at least one computing deviceincluding at least one processor, a certificate with a network, thecertificate configured to indicate to a user of a computing device thatthe network is associated with an expected entity; receiving, by thenetwork identity certificate system and from the computing device, arequest to connect to the network; determining, by the network identitycertificate system, whether a certificate provided on the computingdevice is paired with the certificate associated with the network;responsive to determining that the certificate provided on the computingdevice is paired with the certificate associated with the network,permitting the computing device to transmit data over the network; andresponsive to determining that the certificate provided on the computingdevice is not paired with the certificate associated with the network,preventing the computing device from transmitting data over the network.11. The method of claim 10, further including: prior to associating thecertificate with the network, generating a pair of certificatesincluding a private certificate and a public certificate, wherein theprivate certificate is associated with the network and the publiccertificate is provided on the computing device.
 12. The method of claim11, further including: identifying, by the network access certificatesystem, a plurality of computing devices authorized to access thenetwork; and providing the generated public certificate to the pluralityof computing devices, wherein the computing device is one computingdevice of the plurality of computing devices.
 13. The method of claim10, further including: displaying, by the computing device, a list ofnetworks available for attempted connection by the user, the list ofnetworks available including the network, wherein receiving, from thecomputing device, the request to connect to the network includesselecting the network from the list of networks available for attemptedconnection.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the determining whethera certificate provided on the computing device is paired with thecertificate associated with the network is performed upon selection ofthe network from the list of networks available for attemptedconnection.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the determining whethera certificate provided on the computing device is paired with thecertificate associated with the network is performed prior to attemptingto transmit data over the network.
 16. The method of claim 10, whereinthe certificate is unique to the network.
 17. The method of claim 10,wherein the computing device includes a plurality of certificates uniqueto corresponding networks of a plurality of networks.
 18. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the expected entity is an entity associated with aname of the network.
 19. One or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, whenexecuted, cause at least one computing device to: associate acertificate with a network, the certificate configured to indicate to auser of a computing device that the network is associated with anexpected entity; receive, from the computing device, a request toconnect to the network; determine whether a certificate provided on thecomputing device is paired with the certificate associated with thenetwork; responsive to determining that the certificate provided on thecomputing device is paired with the certificate associated with thenetwork, permit the computing device to transmit data over the network;and responsive to determining that the certificate provided on thecomputing device is not paired with the certificate associated with thenetwork, prevent the computing device from transmitting data over thenetwork.
 20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 19, wherein the determining whether a certificate provided on thecomputing device is paired with the certificate associated with thenetwork is performed prior to transmitting data over the network.